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Justice is a mistress that calls my name and pulls me into her embrace to fuck me.
Although, I still can’t understand why people mourn evil. They should be relieved there’s one less murderous individual in the world. One less man who preys upon innocent women and children. I suspect it’s because they’re not aware of the vile acts their loved ones committed. If they did, they’d express fear, not sadness.
Most women are delicate, in need of protection. But only in the physical sense. Emotionally, they are more intelligent, more in tune with the feelings that tend to dominate their lives.
“You caused pain before and after your death. If I could kill you again, I would.”
Why can’t a man simply ask, ‘Do you want me to come over and eat your pussy till you come on my face?’”
“If the next words out of your mouth aren’t an apology, then you’ll lose your tongue,”
“The girl with the braid,” I say, not bothering to waste words. Miss Green is alone, and I won’t leave her unprotected longer than necessary. “What did she want?” “Why should I tell you?” “Because you want to live.” He jerks back, the drink in his hand spilling over the sides of the glass. “Look man, I don’t want any trouble.” “Then answer the question.” “Okay, right. She asked about getting a job here.” I narrow my eyes. “What did you say?” “I said, ‘yes.’ She’s young and pretty, which is what we want around here.” “No.” “No?” he parrots, his brow furrowing. “No, she will not have a job here.
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After weeks of study, I thought I’d understand her by now. While I do have copious amounts of information about her, it’s not the same thing. I want, no, I need to comprehend why this woman draws me to her like no other. Why I’m protecting her at all costs. Today was a prime example. I threatened to kill a man in public, for fuck’s sake. Despite the connections I have with the police and others who’d “handle” this situation, the attorney in me couldn’t believe I acted so rashly. However, the man in me, the primal side that I keep concealed from the world? It didn’t give a fuck.
Usually, I leave once she’s inside with the door locked behind her, but tonight I’m lingering, wanting another glimpse of her. What the fuck is wrong with me?
Now, in my fantasy, her hazel eyes are like a beacon of light, the pureness of her soul radiating outward, so contrary to the darkness found in me. I’ve finally recognized this is one of the things that draws me to her.
“You don’t have to like him. You just have to fuck him.”
“Stay seated,” Bennett says, his voice danger in auditory form. “This doesn’t involve you. Only this man since he foolishly touched what doesn’t belong to him.” “What the hell are you talking about?” Grady shouts. Bennett jerks his chin in my direction. His eyes are bright in the dim lighting, the fierce emotions within shining like diamonds. “She’s mine.”
Bennett crouches, bringing his face close to Grady’s and whispers, “Apologize to Miss Green for putting your filthy hands on her. Then apologize to me for touching what’s mine.”
“You need me. Not this fucking job or anything else,” he says. “Now, get in the car before I carry you.”
“Don’t try to run,” he says, staring into my eyes. “I can see you want to, but don’t.” “Why?” “I will always chase you.”
She’s not only gotten under my skin but inside my blood. A person can’t survive without it, without that life force. She is mine. My reason for feeling alive. My reason for feeling enraged. My reason for feeling anything at all.
The only thing I know is that, for whatever reason, this man makes me feel safe even though I shouldn’t. And his displays of violence don’t shock or frighten me. They seduce me.
No more than a second passes before I’m trailing my fingers down her cheek, a sample I can’t deny myself. She hums in her sleep and leans into my touch. “Dreaming of me?” I whisper. “You better fucking be.” She came so hard thinking about me that she doesn’t stir as I continue to stroke her skin. It’s softer, more supple than I thought. And I can’t get enough. “What the fuck are you doing to me?” I ask her. “Why can’t I walk away from you? Or get you out of my fucking head?” I run my gaze over Calista and force myself to withdraw my fingers, my hands fisting to keep from grabbing her. Instead,
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I reach into my pocket and retrieve my lighter. He goes still at the subtle click as a single flame appears, dancing when my breath stirs it.
“I warned you,” I say. “I gave you a chance to walk away and you didn’t take it. Instead, you thought you could touch what’s mine. Fuck what’s mine. For that, there’s no devil in hell or god in heaven who can save you. Burn, motherfucker.”
“There’s something you’re not telling me.” She sweeps her gaze over my face as I fight off a blush. “A lot of something.” I bow my head, unable to look at her. “If I tell you, will you promise not to tease me about it?” She salutes me. “Cross my heart and hope to die while in the middle of an orgasm.”
Harper snatches the card from my hand. “‘H. Bennett. Attorney-at-Law. 20010 Greystone Blvd. Suite 901.’ Wow. He didn’t put his first name on it. Talk about boundaries.” She shifts her attention to me, a sly smile playing about her lips. “And yet, the elusive Mr. Bennett gave you his first name.” He didn’t just give it to me. He ordered me to use it.
“Josephine, this is Miss Green,” he says, gesturing to me. “She is a person of great interest to me and should be shown the ultimate respect at all times. Whenever she requests to speak to me, you will contact me immediately and put all of my other plans on hold. There’s nothing and no one more important than her. Understood?”
I run my gaze over every inch of Calista, drinking in her presence like a man dying of thirst. It’s been too long since I’ve had her look at me. Since I’ve heard her voice. If I could survive on those things alone, I’d never want for anything else.
I want to be truthful. And I will… to an extent. She can’t know the depth of my obsession until I understand it first and have everything under control. When I’m certain she won’t run from me. Not that it would stop me from chasing her. And keeping her.
She has no idea that I would give her the millions of dollars I own if it meant getting to know everything about her. Very few people know about the wealth I amassed after investing the money I made from my career as an attorney. The only reason I continue to do this job is because it provides me satisfaction when meting out justice. Not as much as killing the guilty with my bare hands. But we all have to make sacrifices for the greater good.
“You are safe. Nothing will hurt you.” His voice carries a confidence that rings true within me. It battles my need to hide from him. To conceal the filthy and damaged parts of me. “I’ve got you, Callie. You’re safe with me. I’ll never let anything hurt you. Anyone who tries will suffer. Now, breathe in and out slowly through your mouth.”
I bring my index finger to his chin, following the minor cleft there, then drag my fingertip along his nose and his bottom lip. It’s just as soft as I thought. Maybe even more so. With regret, I let my hand fall away. Only for Hayden to snatch it in his and bring it to his mouth. “Don’t stop,” he whispers, his lips brushing my skin. “I need more.”
When I nod, giving Levi my permission, I’m doing it without thinking of Hayden. Only for him to appear just behind Levi as he lowers his head to kiss me. Hayden’s gaze meets mine, the blue within no longer ice. His eyes are a pair of blue flames, the hottest temperature, burning with an unholy wrath that feels like a wave of heat sweeping over my flushed skin. It sears me, rendering me ash that’s helpless against any type of force. Right now, that’s Hayden. He slaps a hand on Levi’s shoulder and yanks him away from me. My mouth drops open, and my arms fall to my sides as I watch Hayden
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“Is this the brother you were talking about?” Levi asks me. “I can see why you think he’s an overbearing prick.” Hayden quirks a brow while looking at me and I flinch. “Brother?” he repeats. The attorney clicks his tongue in admonishment. “Miss Green, I thought you were above lying.” Then he turns to Levi. “If I’m her brother, then the things I want to do to her are beyond incestuous.” “I told you!” Harper hisses in my ear, clutching my arm.
“I warned you,” he says to me. If he touches you, what I did last time will seem like a joke in comparison.
“You’re so beautiful when you beg,” Hayden says. He reaches for the other cufflink, and I swallow the ball of nerves gathered in my throat. “As much as I enjoy witnessing that, I need you to understand that I mean what I say.”
I let instinct take over and continue sweeping my mouth over his, light and coaxing. Silently begging him to kiss me back. Even going as far as teasing him with little flicks of my tongue along the seam of his lips. For a breathless moment, he remains motionless. Then a low groan rumbles at the back of his throat, and his arms encircle me, crushing me against his chest. He immediately takes control of the kiss. And me.
His mouth ravages mine, our lips and tongues colliding in a battle for dominance. He’s already won, but this is a show of strength. And of need. Every breath, every touch heightens the denied and reckless longing I’ve been fighting. He deepens the kiss, and his fingers dig into my skin, branding me inch by inch. Second by second. His hands trace my curves through my dress before finding bare skin along my back, leaving a scorching path that continues down the backs of my thighs. I’m lost in him.
“I’ve already made it clear that I don’t share.” When I swing back to look at him, his gaze is locked on Levi. “She’s mine.”
“If you hurt her,” Harper says, poking his chest, “I’ll kill you.” He gives her a curt nod. “Understood.” “Harper, don’t say things you don’t mean,” I say, my gaze darting back and forth to confirm no one overheard her. “She meant it.” When I blink up at Hayden, he stares back, certainty etched into his features. “I’ve seen the eyes of a killer, and she is very serious.” Harper grins maniacally. “Yes, I do. Remember that, Bennett.”
Tell me the reasons why I should run from you, the reasons I should hide my heart.
“Did you really think I wouldn’t come after you?”
The side of his mouth lifts in a smirk. “I admire your spirit, but you want this as much as I do. Your body knows it, even if your mind refuses to accept it.” He leans in closer, his breath fanning across my lips. “You belong to me, Callie. You have since the first time I saw you. I knew it then, and I’m telling you now, you’re mine.”
“There’s no escaping this. I know. I’ve tried.” He inhales deep, pressing his body into me so forcefully that I can feel his heart beat. It’s racing just as much as mine, if not more. “Once you accept this thing between us, you’ll never leave.” I inwardly shrink as defeat washes over me like a cold wind. He’s right. I knew this when I ran. If I ever take the chance and explore this attraction with Hayden, I know deep down that it’d be the death of me. I’d lose myself in him to the point that I’d no longer exist. That is what truly scares me.
He claims my mouth in a kiss that’s gentle. It’s completely opposite to the dark violence rolling off of him. It stuns me, and I stand there, eyes-closed and unmoving. But not unwilling.
His lips move over mine with such tenderness that I melt into him within seconds. Despite his hold on my wrists, he uses his other hand to caress my face while his tongue moves over my lips, coaxing rather than demanding a response from me. “Open for me, Callie. I’m dying to taste you again. I need to know if you’re as sweet as I remember, or if I imagined everything because I’m so obsessed with you.”
I want him to lose control. Just like I have. “Please, baby,” I say with a voice I don’t recognize. It’s sultry yet aching. For him. Hayden’s lips crash against mine with a ferocity that steals my breath. There’s no doubt or hesitation now. I kiss him back with everything that I have, telling him that I want him just as badly, giving him permission to lead me wherever he wants. And he takes it.
“Now that I’ve caught you, I intend to keep you, Callie.”
“You belong with me. To me.” He brings his face so close to mine that the tips of our noses brush one another. “You can fight it all you want, but we both know it’s pointless. What’s happening between us is inevitable, and I’ll do everything within my power to get you to accept it.”
“You think I’m angry about the interior of my car?” he asks. I shrug. “It’s the only reason I can come up with.” “What about the fact that I don’t want you to experience pain in any capacity unless it’s the pain of my cock driving into your cunt? What about the idea that you’re hurt because you’re so fucking scared of me that you don’t realize I would kill someone to keep you safe? Fuck my car. I want your blood on it, my cock, and anywhere else that’d mark me as yours.”
“But I don’t want normal if it means I can’t have you.”
He places his index finger under my chin and lifts my head. "Once this case is solved, you won’t have any excuses left and no places to run. Right now, you're the only obstacle in my way, but you’re also the only woman I want. Despite what you believe, that’s never going to change.”
“Never,” he says, the sound guttural and deep, as if summoned from the depths of his soul. “Do you hear me, Callie? I’ll never leave you. Not in this life or whatever comes after. You are mine. And I will burn this world to fucking ashes before I let anything take you from me. Or me from you.” His passionate declaration wrecks me in the best possible way.
“I’d give you anything if it meant I’d get to keep you.” “Keeping me means surviving you.” His brows snap together. “Explain.” “If I give myself to you—” “When,” he interjects. I glare up at him, but it lacks any real heat. “If I give myself to you, you’ll break me into pieces so small I won’t be able to put myself back together or make myself whole.” “I’ll fuse your broken pieces with mine. Together, we’ll be whole, Callie.”
